Construction or renovation projects often require the framing of doors. Doorframes are conventionally constructed on site in a “roughed-in” door opening. There are several disadvantages to on-site construction of a doorframe. Proper construction of a doorframe requires precision. Thus, for the average person, hanging doors is very difficult and very frustrating work due to the level of precision required for proper installation of a working door in a doorframe. Therefore, this work demands the services of a person skilled in the trade. Even still, this work can be slow and costly.
Prefabricated doorframes have been used in an attempt to mitigate these problems. Factory assembled prefabricated doorframes have proven to be problematic, however, due to their inherent size and fragility. Furthermore, the prefabricated doorframe still requires fitting in the door opening, demanding a high level of skill to complete this task. Even still, door trim must be installed after the installation of the prefabricated doorframe. Thus, the work is still difficult and frustrating for an unskilled person attempting to install the doorframe.
Other attempts at prefabricated doorframes include partially assembled frames. These partially assembled frames still require skilled labor and the installation work can be slow.
All of these prefabricated systems can be problematic due to bending, cracking or warping of the wood. These systems generally include a doorstop attached to the frame, in the finished state. Thus, if the doorframe bends or warps prior to or during installation, or if the doorframe is not exactly level, the door might not rest against the doorstop when the door is in the closed position. For example, the bottom of the door may hit the doorstop while the top of the door is still spaced from the doorstop, or vice versa. This can also cause the door to bind in the frame.
Canadian Patent No. 2,035521 to Critch teaches a prefabricated floating doorframe that includes slots in the header of the frame, into which the leg jambs are inserted. The leg jambs are cut at the top in a reciprocating rabbit joint, for fitting into a respective slot. While this-system mitigates some of the problems of the prior art, it suffers other disadvantages. For example, the precut jambs of these doorframes are generally constructed of a medium density fiberboard (MDF) that is about ½ inch thick. Also, the casing cut and the slot cut in the header jamb are at the same longitudinal spacing along the header. The slot in the header jamb is a weak point in the doorframe that is susceptible to breaking. Upon installation, the installer installs the header first and then the legs. If the legs are not inserted properly, or the wall studs are warped, the installer risks breaking the angled cut (forty-five degree cut) of the header casing. Also, the door is placed into the frame when the frame is not yet fastened The header is then used to pull or push the top of the door and frame to a level position. This can result in breaking of the header jamb at the slot.
All of these prefabricated doorframe systems suffer further disadvantages in that the hardware or building supply stores that stock these doorframes must keep two sets of every doorframe and door. The two sets are required for providing both a left-handed opening door and a right-handed opening door.
Each prefabricated doorframe includes a pair of leg jambs. One of the pairs of leg jambs includes a pair of recessed hinge placements on one side of the jamb, where the door hinges are attached to the doorframe. The opposing leg jamb includes a precut striker plate attachment and striker hole on a complementary side of the leg jamb, for receiving the striker plate. A doorframe for a left-handed opening door has hinge placements on the opposite side of the leg jamb as a doorframe for a right-handed opening door. Similarly, a doorframe for a left-handed opening door has the striker plate attachment and striker hole on the opposite side of the leg jamb as a doorframe for a left-handed opening door. Therefore, two sets of doorframes must be made available for each doorframe size.
Also, each door for hinged attachment in the doorframe includes precut hinge placements on a rear edge of the door, cut for example, by a router. The rear edge including the precut hinge placements, and the front edge are beveled to ensure that the door does not bind in the doorframe. Thus, a left-banded opening door has opposite bevels compared to a right-handed opening door. Therefore each building supply store must also stock two sets of doors for each door size, one for right-handed and one for left-handed opening doors.
Stocking two different sets of doorframes and doors for every size of door requires building supply stores to keep larger inventories and requires the purchaser of the doorframe and door to know in advance which doorframe and door are desired or required. Furthermore, the purchaser must match the correct door with the correct doorframe to ensure that the correct door is purchased for the desired doorframe. Further still, this requires accurate labeling by the manufacturer.
Accordingly, it is an object of an aspect of the present invention to provide a prefabricated doorframe system which obviates or mitigates at least some of the disadvantages of the prior art.